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Fiscal Court approves lease-to-buy for two cruisers; sheriff's office cites radio encryption issues
Summary
Mason County authorized lease-to-buy purchases of two police cruisers priced at about $39,000 each and discussed radio encryption reliability problems and related maintenance costs; commissioners approved the leases after staff described vehicle pricing and outfitting estimates.
Maysville, Ky.
Mason County Fiscal Court approved leasing-to-buy two patrol vehicles and associated outfitting for the sheriff's office on Sept. 10 after Chief Deputy Colton Linpel described available 2023 Durango cruisers priced at about $39,000 each and detailed ongoing radio-encryption issues that have required vendor service visits.
Colton Linpel reported monthly disbursements and explained that the sheriff's office has experienced intermittent loss of radio encryption keys requiring vendor visits to re-provision radios. He said the county purchased battery maintainers and is balancing repair-trip fees (noted as roughly $150 per visit plus hourly charges from the vendor) against continuing maintenance costs.
On vehicles, Linpel told the court two previously purchased 2023 Durangos were available at the quoted price and that outfitting and other equipment would increase total per-vehicle costs. The court voted to approve two leases with an option to buy and to proceed with outfitting estimates, with commissioners saying the purchase would be more efficient than repeated ad-hoc purchases at higher per-vehicle pricing.
Why it matters: The radio encryption issue affects law enforcement communications and recurring maintenance budgets; approving available cruisers aims to keep patrol capacity current while controlling long-term costs.
Next steps: Sheriff's Office staff will finalize leasing paperwork and outfitting details and will return any outstanding quotes or grant outcomes (such as KEIKO/Keiko grant applications for push bumpers) to the court for final budgeting.
